This one is for teachers...is Y a vowel......and do you teach that it is in school ?

Question

I told the grandchildren that the vowels were a e i o u and sometimes y........my grown children are convinced that i have lost it and am totaly wrong...that y only acts like a vowel but is not a true vowel...lol please help

Answer 1

y is NOT a vowel, but acts like a vowel when it makes the vowel sounds...the old adage is misleading...

Answer 2

You are right,

sometimes-  y.

Answer 3

:-)  I teach it the same way you did...a e i o u and sometimes y.  Depends on the age of the children whether you want to get into the specifics of it or not.  I work mostly with preschoolers and when I have charts that show the whole alphabet I usually put the actual vowels in a different color but I leave Y as a consonant color.  

I believe in teaching the children that some letters have different sounds depending on where it is in the word or what letter is nearby.  They are SO capable of learning this.  So Y imitates other letters sounds...so be it :-)

Answer 4

You are right

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/f...

Answer 5

No vowels are AEIOU teachers should not be teaching children otherwise cos it is just plain wrong!

Answer 6

I'm a teacher. Your teacher answerers don't seem to agree.

I was taught that it is a vowel in some words, like the word "cry" because every English word must have a vowel.  Now, if it just ACTS like a vowel in that word, isn't that the same as BEING a vowel in that word?

What's the difference?  If it's function is a vowel, it is a vowel in that word.  To me, Y can be a consonant or a vowel, depending on how it is used.

Answer 7

Yes, I teach my students that Y is considered a vowel at times.

Answer 8

I've always considered the letter "y" to be a consonant and never ever thought of it as a vowel.  Luckily, I have an open mind and I listen to all opinions.

Lady Morgana has opened my eyes with her explanation and it makes perfect sense that "y" is only considered to be a vowel when it's included in the spelling of a word with no other vowels (a, e, i, o and u).

It's still a tricky one......there again, the English language is rather tricky at times isn't it?

Answer 9

Y can be used as a good role model for kids.  Y can adapt so he can play with both the consonants and the vowels, he doesn't feel he has to stick with one side or the other.

Answer 10

Sometimes. Y is a vowel part of the time, but a consonant others. Yes, teachers teach that.

Answer 11

It is [Classed as] a semi vowel!

This because of it sound!

Vowel are open and the sound are not cut short as they are when making Constants!

so phonetically it is both, depending on how it is used.